Officers Shoot - Say Man Attacked

Seminole Deputies Said He Lunged At Them With A Screwdriver When They Found Him In A Shed. They Had Chased His Van.

November 22, 1998|By Susan Jacobson of The Sentinel Staff

Law officers said Saturday they were forced to shoot a Casselberry man who charged at them with a screwdriver.

Neal Everett Nicarry, 37, was shot Friday night as he lunged with a screwdriver at Seminole County deputy sheriffs and at least one Florida Highway Patrol trooper, sheriff's spokeswoman Deanna Brown said.

Nicarry, who has a long criminal history that includes convictions for armed robbery, armed burglary and cocaine possession, was being held under guard at Orlando Regional Medical Center with wounds that were not life-threatening, said Seminole sheriff's Director Penny Fleming.

The incident began Friday at about 10:45 p.m. when Deputy Michael Cannaday tried to stop Nicarry's van for a traffic violation at Jackson Street and State Road 436 in east Altamonte Springs, Brown said.

Nicarry refused to stop, she said. He drove onto Interstate 4 eastbound, got off at State Road 434 westbound and entered a church driveway near Montgomery Road, authorities said. He cut through woods and rammed fences and tore up a yard, ending up in a hedge on Pine Street in Altamonte Springs.

When Nicarry ran, several Seminole deputies chased him as a sheriff's helicopter followed, neighbors said. He was found in a shed behind a home at 111 Pine St.

Resident Lora Smith, 61, said 25 to 30 law enforcement officers combed the neighborhood. She estimated that about eight or nine of them congregated in her back yard when Nicarry was discovered in the shed.

Smith said she was in her bedroom when she heard five shots. Another neighbor also said she heard shots.

Seminole sheriff's officials wouldn't say how many of their officers where in the back yard. Nor would they divulge how many times, by whom or in what part of the body Nicarry was hit.

Officials did say that Cannaday and FHP Cpl. Larry P. Smith fired their weapons. Smith is on three days of administrative leave with pay as is standard in shootings, FHP spokesman Lt. Chuck Williams said. He will return to patrol duty afterward.

Cannaday will return to work on Wednesday after his normal days off and will be put on off-road duty pending the results of a Florida Department of Law Enforcement investigation, Fleming said.

Brown said there were no outstanding warrants on Nicarry.

Sheriff's officials said Nicarry was not under arrest but likely would face charges once he is released from the hospital.